Dance of Flute and Horn
by AkatsukiAme
Summary: It all started with Tayuya falling asleep on Sakon. With the inteference of Kabuto and a strange mission, will our couple be able to become just that, a couple?
1. The Danger That Sleep Brings

This is my first story

Dance of Flute and Horn

Ch. 1: The Danger That Sleep Brings

I looked out at the precious twilight sky. When you work for Orochimaru-sama, you don't get much quiet time, and appreciate what little you receive all the more. I had just finished a mission with the rest of the Sound Four, and my brother was asleep, although not in my body. His head made things complicated, so I would never allow him to sleep…'with' me. He wasn't included in this mission anyways, in fact, Orochimaru-sama specifically asked him to not come with me. I believe it was to test my abilities in battle without my brother. I was sure that I had exceeded Orochimaru-sama's expectations. This mission for a scroll on some lost villages attempt at immortality was quite easy, and I was the only one who needed to fight. I was done with the idiot rogue ninjas that stood in my way within two minutes, so I had definitely proved myself. Too bad Tayuya hadn't been looking when I killed them; maybe then this day would have been a little bit better. But I shouldn't get so selfish.

Tayuya's head shifted in my head, and I stiffened. If she woke up with her head in my lap, I'd be dead. I didn't know a single person who could hold Tayuya back when she was angry, and I didn't want to experiment. I began to get drowsy, and even though I knew that I shouldn't fall asleep, Tayuya wrapped her arms around my waist in her sleep, lulling me into sleep further. My last thoughts before I was enveloped by unconsciousness were, _I'm in for one perfect morning tomorrow…_

"Sakon, I'm going to kill you, you dirty muck-ridden pervert! How many times have I told you not to touch me! By the time I'm done with you, you won't have the option of children!"

Tayuya's voice yelling a lovely morning greeting, as usual, was what woke me up. I suppose that I shouldn't have let her fall asleep on me, knowing what I know about her temperament. But, luckily for me, the Sakon she was beating into an undistinguishable pulp was really Ukon with a jutsu put on him. I had caught the little dirtball looking for me early this morning when I got up, and he didn't think that I would survive a mission without him. So he got his just desserts.

Alright, maybe I was a _bit_ harsh on Ukon. I mean, no one deserved to be beaten up by Tayuya. Except for those **real** perverts who like to try to put their hands where they don't belong. I have always wanted to rescue Tayuya from one of those guys, but she always kills them herself. She doesn't let me have any fun.

So, Kidomaru, Jirobo, and I watched happily as Ukon was given injuries that wouldn't fully heal for a year. We all loved to watch my bossy onii-san get pulverized by a pretty little girl like Tayuya.

After a half an hour of steam was blown off, I revealed myself. Tayuya didn't seem very happy, but Jirobo and Kidomaru just smirked. After all, they _had_ known that it was Ukon.

When we got back to Orochimaru, he wasn't very pleased with me either, but he let it slide. Kidomaru and Jirobo got assigned a new mission whereas Tayuya and I had to stay in Sound as punishment for unneeded fighting amongst ourselves. We also received the pleasure of dragging Ukon to Kabuto to get healed.

I pulled Ukon to the door, and Tayuya took him to Kabuto while I waited outside. It took five minutes before I became suspicious of what was taking Tayuya so long, and it was a good thing that I came to check on her. When I opened that door, yes, I did see my brother sleeping on a sparsely furnished bed, but what else I saw is what it was important to see. Kabuto was straddling Tayuya on the floor, and neither of them was making to get up, so I could only assume the worst as I backed out of the room, quietly closing the door behind me and retreating to my nearby room. And what I could safely and undoubtedly assume was that Tayuya had feelings for Kabuto, and Kabuto liked her back. I collapsed on my bed and wished more than ever that I hadn't hurt my brother, for he was the only one other than Tayuya who was capable of cheering me up. And, let me tell you, I was _not_ looking forward to seeing those two at dinner.

**A/N:**** Wow, I haven't written anything in a while; it's kind of nice to write again. This story is for Higura Natume, who requested a SakoTayu. As I really have little motivation for this pairing, it will not be my best writing, but I shall try my best! I will certainly succeed in this challenge!**


	2. Dinner Disaster

Chapter 1: Just Your Normal Kids

Dance of Flute and Horn

Ch. 2: Dinner Disaster

**A/N:**** This chapter is dedicated to Sakura4eva, my only reviewer that I don't know personally! Thank you for taking the time to review!**

I heard a knock on my door and Tayuya's voice yelling at me to come for dinner and grudgingly got up. I drug my feet across the floor and to the kitchen, where I sat down next to the now-fully-healed Ukon. And boy could I tell that I was in for one great time.

But actually, my sarcasm was rendered unable to be called sarcasm as Tayuya sat on my left, because, with her next to me, I would surely have a great time. And boy did I come to be wrong.

Everything was actually going well with the Sound Four eating together, Tayuya and I were even having a decent conversation. I think she didn't realize that I had seen her and Kabuto in Ukon's recovery room. So we were talking about one time when we had to rescue Kidomaru from some crazed and drunken girls, and he ended up screaming like a girl trying to get away from them. But then, the potatoes were cooled off enough to eat.

I should have known not to get my brother angry at me, really. Being so closely related and spending so much time together, a person gets a sense of what jokes they should or should not pull with someone, but apparently I needed to learn more about my elder sibling. Why? Because what happened with the potatoes was infinitely his fault, that's why.

It started with a tiny bit of potato hitting me in the head, and I thought that it had honestly been an accident. I couldn't say that I thought it was an accident when Ukon stuffed potatoes down my pants, though. The potatoes were sitting very uncomfortably and shifting my position only made that worse. And not only were the potatoes in my pants, they were still very hot, so I ended up dancing around like I had recently been checked into an asylum. I tried to take this silent punishment in stride, but I failed miserably when Tayuya began to laugh at me. Hearing the voice that made my heart flutter like a butterfly mocking me was like a stab through an artery— painful and deadly.

I turned towards Ukon with a smile on my face, and some cold noodles in my hand. He could obviously see my intent, and backed away from me slowly, so that he wouldn't incite anything drastic, such as more jutsu being put on him. But he didn't realize that the one smiling wasn't really me, and that I had left the table after receiving potatoes in my pants. So the real me dismissed my clone and leapt down from my position on the ceiling to land on Ukon's shoulders and pin him to the ground while stuffing ants down his pants.

I'm sure that those ants had made themselves at home in his drawers, because Ukon jumped up and began to curse like Hidan on a bad day. And somehow, amidst this brotherly brawl, the others got involved in the fight and the underground kitchen became a site of war. A sight of food war, but a war nonetheless.

An hour later, we were all exhausted, and we all had to report to Kabuto to receive our punishment for disrupting the other Otonin. We all went into Kabuto's office separately— so that he could give Tayuya a different kind of punishment, I presume.

When I walked in, I sneered at Kabuto. He seemed surprised at my anger towards him and asked what my problem was.

"You knew that I liked her, and then you go behind my back and start doing things with her! Some confidant you are, Kabuto-_san_." I stressed the '-san' to make it clear to Kabuto that we were no longer close.

"And what in this world might you be talking about?" Kabuto inquired, playing innocent.

"I saw you two in the room with Ukon, I know what's going on," I snapped, and Kabuto's demeanor changed instantly.

"O-Oh, you saw us? A-Actually, I kind of fell, and Tayuya tried to keep me from falling, but we both ended up in an embarrassing heap…"

"If that's true, then how come it took you so long to get up?" I yelled, my voice rising with indignation that Kabuto would have the guts to blatantly deny obvious evidence.

"Actually, my fall knocked me unconscious, and Tayuya was having difficulties getting up without severely injuring me on my equipment. I assure you, there was nothing at all romantic involved." Kabuto pushed up his glasses. "Now, I have to tell Tayuya her punishment, so you go clean Keiji's bathroom—"

"No, I'll stay right here," I interjected.

So Kabuto called Tayuya in and we all listened to her assignment. I winced. Tayuya had to clean the sword that Orochimaru kept inside of himself with his tongue. That made me believe what Kabuto had told me more.

"Eww, you scumbag, there's no way I'm doing that! Orochimaru's sword is less sanitary than a hole full of tar, mud, and beetles! Besides, wouldn't you like to do that job yourself?" Tayuya said, adding that last question suggestively.

Kabuto blushed fiercely.

"Well, so much for no one else knowing, thank you Tayuya." Kabuto responded.

"You're welcome," she answered happily, "and you really should clean that sword yourself, after all, you owe Orochimaru after that mishap yesterday…" Tayuya frowned, recalling the mishap. "Next time, I'm not going to try to stop your fall, just so you know."

"Understood," Kabuto began, "I wouldn't want you to, anyways. I need to be perfectly uninvolved with anyone for Orochimaru to even _consider_ doing anything with me on days other than Saturday nights."

Tayuya backed up a step, incidentally towards me, and shuddered.

"I doubt anyone wants to know what happens between you two on Saturday nights." Tayuya voiced.

"Ah, that's perfect! That will be the punishment for both of you, since I'm sure that Juugo and

Kidomaru have already completed their tasks! You shall listen to, in excruciating detail, me recall our last Saturday night." Kabuto's eyes gleamed scarily with passion and adoration.

I snorted, thinking that Kabuto was joking about his feelings for Orochimaru, but Kabuto started to tell us how each Saturday night began.

An hour later, Tayuya was clinging to me with an iron grip and murmuring something about how she would never be able to even think about an apple again without puking. I carried her as best as I could out of Kabuto's office while Kabuto sighed dreamily at his memories.

She seemed to be less revolted once we had gotten the equivalent of a kilometer away from Kabuto's office. She even seemed to be aware that her hold on me was hurting me, and lessened it. So she was obviously aware that she was embracing me and wasn't repulsed. This could be the beginning of an actual relationship between the two of us…

**A/N:**** Another chapter, yay! This story is kind of hard to write, but I found more inspiration towards the end, so it sounded better (at least to me). See you next chapter (I hope…)!**


	3. PuppyDog Eyes

Chapter 1: Just Your Normal Kids

Dance of Flute and Horn

Ch.3: Puppy-Dog Eyes

**A/N:**** This chapter is also dedicated to my reviewers:**

**Sakura4eva**

**Higura Natume **

For once in my life, when Tayuya woke me up, it wasn't with yelling. Rather, she still looked like she did when Kabuto finished our punishment. So of course, I just _had_ to poke fun at her.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost," I began. "Or maybe you just heard another one of Kabuto's stories?" I started to laugh loudly at my own joke. I had completely forgiven Kabuto after finding a lot of evidence in his tale with Orochimaru that Kabuto had no interest whatsoever in Tayuya… or any other girl for that matter.

Tayuya shot a playfully mad look at me from my doorway as I got up, now quietly chuckling to myself.

I walked past her out my door and she blushed.

"Why are you blushing?" I asked. Even if she had begun to like me as a bit more than a friend, she wouldn't be blushing like _that_.

"Don't you think that you should put some clothes on?" she asked quietly.

"Since when are you shy?" I asked, but went back into my room anyways. Ukon was always saying that my boxers made me look fat, and not the good kind of fat.

I noticed Tayuya staring at me from the door as I slipped my pants on, and I saw her face go extremely red when I pulled my shirt down slowly over my torso. I think that she liked what she saw, so I was feeling pretty confident when I followed her out of my room and to breakfast. So confident, in fact, that I didn't notice that I was in the kitchen until Tayuya passed me the water jug.

Tayuya' hand brushed mine, and she nervously dropped the jug because of it. Or that's what I thought had happened. I should have known that I didn't have that kind of an effect on her. It turns out that Kimimaro had just entered the room and was standing in a position that was an accidental pose. From Tayuya's point of view, I'm sure that Kimimaro looked handsome. Kimimaro is the kind of person that just naturally attracts the attention of others and is really hard to ignore, even if I really _want_ to ignore his positive comments about Orochimaru. Sometimes I wonder if Kimimaro shares the same kind of admiration for Orochimaru as Kabuto does…

But there Kimimaro was, standing in the doorway to the kitchen with his lips slightly parted and his skin glistening slightly, as if he had just come from training (which was highly likely). His shirt sleeve had slid down off of one shoulder, giving him an alluring look, and his gaze was neutral, seeming as if nothing at all had an effect on him. His voice was pure and almost liquid when he spoke, and even I could tell that he absorbed the tension in the room and released calm admiration in its place.

"Sakon, Tayuya, Kabuto has requested your presence, I am to send you to his office,"

I looked to Tayuya partially to see if she knew what Kabuto wanted, and partially to see how she was reacting to Kimimaro's attraction. Despite her earlier action of dropping the water jug at Kimimaro's appearance, Tayuya now appeared indifferent. She stood and scowled, but anyone could tell that she was really scared of Kabuto and on alert.

Tayuya and I walked silently and apprehensively to Kabuto's office, and Tayuya stiffened at the door, not moving. She stood there for a full minute and then I realized that Tayuya wouldn't go through that door anytime soon. I suppose that she had developed Kabuto-phobia, but what girl wouldn't after hearing that kind of vile speech spout from the mouth of a very knowledgeable and respected man?

I started to drag Tayuya forcibly towards the door, but stopped after she spoke.

"Do you care at all for my health? If I hear another word anything like what he said yesterday, I swear that I'll puke all over his little dirt-bag of a head and slit my wrist."

I still had a little bit of me that feared we would have to listen to more stories if we didn't enter, so I moved my hand to push Tayuya in.

Of course, at that point, Tayuya pulled out her ultimate defense, the puppy-dog eyes. She knew full and well that I couldn't refuse her anything when she did that, but I think that she had forgotten the consequences of such an action. The last time she used those eyes on me was a year ago when she couldn't beat me during training, and the results were dastardly.

Tayuya seemed to quickly realize her mistake and I backed up as fast as possible to try to negate the effect, but our efforts were in vain. My curse mark flared across my skin as I changed state at an alarming speed until I was fully transformed. And I sent as much chakra to my feet as I could, fleeing to above ground before I did something that I'd regret.

**A/N:**** You'll find out next chapter about what exactly the puppy-dog eyes do, so check for an update tomorrow (If any of you care…). I'll try my best to put up a new chapter tomorrow!**


	4. Flight

Dance of Flute and Horn

Ch. 4: Flight

I was still running in the forest when I heard Tayuya calling my name. _I ran away so that she would be safe, doesn't she know what's good for her?_ I asked myself, but I already knew the answer. Tayuya was always pretty hard-headed and difficult to get through to because she refused to see things any way that wasn't hers.

Perhaps she couldn't recall the last time we met after she used the puppy-dog eyes, but I'm fairly certain that it was her stubborn-ness that was leading her to follow me instead of stay underground until it was safe.

It really is a strange concept to grasp that one specific look does this to me, tears me to a point where I'm no longer in control of my body, for that is what happens.

Ukon has never suffered from this condition, but then again, Ukon didn't see what I saw when our parents were murdered. Every time that I see puppy-dog eyes, they trigger something inside of me that just refuses to be kept in. That something reacts with my curse mark so that it can come out without fighting me, and then it takes over my body and senses slowly, almost as if it is trying to sneak its way through me. And, actually, the first few times it happened, the something made it through me without me realizing, and I hadn't known that anything had happened until I had woken up to a gaping Ukon. Since his first encounter with my ultimate destruction, Ukon has been trying to awaken the same kind of power in himself, because he believes it to be a kekkei genkai. I have been unable to convince him that it was all because of that night…

I had been running home from training with my sensei, and was very excited because I had just completed a very advanced jutsu for my age, so I yelled that I was home and raced to my parents' room, where I knew that my parents would be. But the door to my parents' room was ajar, and even as an eight-year-old I could tell that something was amiss. As stealthily as my underdeveloped ninja skill could permit, I leaned against the wall and peered through the doorframe to see what was happening. What I saw was a scene that I carry with me through life, a scene that is the object accumulating all of my nightmares, and that would be forever tattooed into my brain.

All I saw at first was a flash of red, and then my face was wet and splattered with blood. A tall man in a black cloak with red clouds stood with a sword in his tightly closed fist and blood dripping from his arm turned towards me, gesturing towards the mutilated bodies of my parents. Then he deliberately cut out the hearts of both of them and speared his sword through them both. I tried to yell, scream, do _something_, but I couldn't move. And that was when he gave me one last look, that of an innocent puppy-dog, and used a transportation jutsu to leave the murder scene.

**A/N:**** Yeah, I know it's short, but I wanted to leave the ending like that, plus I don't think I'll be able to update tomorrow, so I did my best to update today. Hope you liked it!**


	5. To Be Paired

Dance of Flute and Horn

Ch. 5: To Be Paired

Tayuya walked over to me cautiously and took my hand, not letting go when I tried to push her away so that she wouldn't get hurt. She continued to hold my hand for five minutes, and then wrapped her arms around me in my final curse stage, not letting go until a while later when my curse mark released its hold on me and I dropped to the ground in my normal form.

I lifted myself up slowly, and started to walk back to my room with my waning strength. Tayuya seemed to notice my struggle and put my right arm over her shoulder to take some of my weight.

"Not so much of a hot shot now, are you Sakon?" Tayuya asked playfully as we neared my room.

I grunted in response, focusing my energy on keeping consciousness in Tayuya's presence.

But unfortunately, we were intercepted by Ukon, who looked at me questioningly and then told us that Kabuto still needed us.

So we proceeded to Kabuto's office and plunged in before Tayuya could have second thoughts about re-entering the room of torture.

"Ah, there you two are, you've been awhile. I thought I told Kimimaro to fetch you right away, but oh well. I needed to tell you—" Kabuto started, but I cut him off.

"If this has anything to do with another one of your Saturday nights, we're leaving and will never come back inside of this room again."

"You're so harsh… But no, this has nothing to do with myself and Orochimaru-sama except that Orochimaru-sama assigned the two of you a mission."

"The two of us? Why isn't it for all of Sound Four?" Tayuya asked, sounding nervous. She probably thought that Orochimaru was sending us on some type of suicide mission together because we were the disposable ones of Sound Four, even though she should have known that she was the best of the Sound Four, even if Kimimaro was the best of the Sound Five before he needed medical attention.

Kabuto smirked.

"Good question, Tayuya. Orochimaru-sama needs a couple to successfully complete this assassination mission. He originally had you and Ukon in mind," Kabuto watched Tayuya shudder at the thought, "but Ukon was not as good at interacting with people and not strong enough to be able to complete the mission, so Sakon here was picked."

"And just what might this mission be that it needs an alleged couple?" I inquired with a suspicious tone.

"You are to attend a banquet in Kumogakure at which you will make friends with one Fianna Yukuro, and assassinate him at whatever time you see fit, but you must make sure to first get his papers from him, he'll know what papers. Here is his profile," Kabuto said, sliding the papers onto his desk in such a position that they were easily visible to both Tayuya and I.

"Okay, when do we leave?" Tayuya questioned, vaguely interested in our new mission.

"You leave tonight at midnight. The location isn't even a day's travel from here, so you will arrive at your destination at least three hours before you need to be there. Formal attire is required at the banquet, and here are your identities for this mission," Kabuto finished, handing us both our own I.D. card with a description on the back.

I was pretty surprised; I hadn't done any missions like this since the years before I joined Orochimaru, so this type of mission was almost a challenge. But I also received the opportunity to show true affection to Tayuya and have her not know that that is how I really feel.

"What time is it now?" I asked concernedly, to see how much time I had to locate some formal attire for the banquet.

"Relax, Sakon, it is only 12:00 in the afternoon. You have plenty of time to find that old suit of yours," Kabuto reassured me, although I found no comfort in his words. Actually, I just ignored him and dashed off to look for my suit, because otherwise I would have to wear one of my kimonos, and most people know that a kimono makes me look fat and ugly. That, or Ukon had told me that kimonos did so many times that I had begun to believe him.

After the equivalent of two hours of searching, I had found my suit and no longer needed to wear an accursed kimono, but that was an event of the past, seeing as we were at our destination now, and in the check-in line to get into the banquet. Tayuya looked ravishing in her blood red kimono accented with black flowers, black butterflies, and a black obi. She was lucky; her kimono didn't make _her_ look fat. Her red hair was flowing freely down her back and her tabi shoes clacked quietly against the cement outside.

We made it to the front of the line and were accepted through without issue, and started to look for our target. We spotted him sitting at a table not too far into the large dining hall, and the chandelier above is refracted through his glasses, sending beams of light across the room as he inclined his head. Tayuya and I quickly made our way over to him before the two seats on his right could be taken.

"Hello there, Fianna-san, I am Hokate Keiji and this is my wife, Hokate Mirabelle."

"Ah, yes, you were the ones who sold me those fine paintings, correct?" Fianna-san asked.

"Yes," I confirmed, "and we wanted some feedback. How are you liking the paintings? Do you have them hanging in your estate?"

"Ah, but of course I have them hanging, and the paintings are marvelous. I have been wanting to tell you that, and then fancy meeting you here at this banquet!" he exclaimed happily, and he seemed to be innocent. In that instance I could not believe that this man had even _heard_ of Orochimaru, much less betrayed him. But then the man said something completely unexpected and I understood how he operated.

"I'm sure you two remember the son of the Tsuchikage that we were all very annoyed at and heard news of his most untimely death? Well, I had my special assassin dispose of him for us, so that our trade can finally go on in peace. Aren't you pleased?"

"Yes, that was very thoughtful of you; we'll return the favor," was my reply, but only Tayuya and I were aware of my statement's double meaning.

**A/N:**** I feel as if this chapter was better than the rest; and I actually updated a decent amount today! I'm feeling pretty good right now (and a bit self-absorbed, but oh well). Thank you to my reviewers, Sakura4eva and Higura Natume!**


	6. One Last Dance

Dance of Flute and Horn

Ch. 6: One Last Dance

After dinner, Fianna-san insisted to have the first dance with my 'wife,' even though he should have known that such a thing was improper. So when they came back, I dutifully offered Tayuya my hand and asked, "May I have this dance?"

And although Tayuya was made up to look like Mirabelle, I think it wasn't Mirabelle who blushed, but actually Tayuya who did so, and the thought made my smile glow with real warmth instead of its usual sadistic nature.

Tayuya and I walked onto the dance floor where a slow waltz was playing. She seemed uncomfortable with the whole thing, so I led her stumbling feet with my practiced ones, having learned to waltz at a young age.

Our hands slipped perfectly into one another's and we had the grace of an experienced couple. No one around us would have believed that we were just friends with the care we took in dancing with one another. I was so happy at that moment, swirling around the dance floor with Tayuya in my arms, trusting me to lead her correctly and to keep her from falling in her kimono, seeing as it was difficult for her to walk in her kimono, let alone to dance in it. I felt as if I was in heaven, especially when, at the end of the song, Tayuya just stood there with me, her head against my chest, and calmly took in her surroundings, as if awakening from a daze. Like her, I too felt as though there was no one but us while we were dancing, and we both gradually took in the reality of the crowded room around us. It was as if while we were dancing, it was not the couple we were impersonating who was dancing, but rather Tayuya and Sakon who were dancing together and enjoying it.

We each go of the other and went back to sitting in our seats from dinner, although Fianna-san was nowhere to be found. So Tayuya started up a conversation to fill the silence that was dominating without our target within our lines of sight.

"I never knew that you could waltz, Sakon. I guess that I should have expected that from the only boy in the Sound Four that can come close to beating me."

"Yes, you should have known. I think that my ability to dance was in the profile that Orochimaru-sama has of me. I certainly know that that is not written in yours."

"Hey, the only reason that I can't dance is because I've never found a man that was worthy enough to dance with!" Tayuya defended herself, raising her voice to emphasize her point.

"So I'm worthy enough to dance with?" I inquired nonchalantly.

Tayuya turned red for the second time that night and looked away.

"Well, I guess… compared to all of the other men that I've met, you've seemed to be the best person… and you're more attract—" Tayuya stopped herself from continuing, realizing what exactly she was saying. She covered her mouth and refused to make eye contact.

I just smirked, happy that Tayuya felt the same way that I did, or at least did so a small amount. But I didn't want to tell her just yet, I wanted to give her time to cope with her muddled and mixed emotions, so I changed the subject as Fianna-san came back to sit down.

"Ah, Fianna-san, where were you? We needed your help with something." I said, leading him stealthily in the conversation before his death.

"Oh, I was just talking to Yarumi-san; he's the man with all of the power in this village," was Fianna-san's casual reply.

"Are you free to help my wife and I settle a predicament? My wife here claims that the painting I brought with me was too extravagant of a gift for the host, but I think it will work nicely as a thank-you gift for being invited to the banquet. Would you care to take a look and tell us your opinion?"

"Of course I shall help you, I do owe you for those paintings still," Fianna-san pointed out and followed Tayuya and I outside. We walked around to the side of the building where there was indeed an extravagant painting, but most certainly _not_ one that would be going anywhere anytime soon, because it was wrought deeply into the earthen ground. Fianna-san unwisely turned his back to us as he examined the painting.

"This is a magnificent piece of work! I think—" But no one ever received the chance to learn what Fianna-san thought, because at that moment, I pierced a kunai through his jugular vein as Tayuya shoved one through his heart and the greedy man who had dared try to get Orochimaru assassinated died within the minute, never to see another opportunity of any kind again.

I turned to Tayuya, who was standing silently beside me and admired the way the moonlight made her hair shimmer and the way the breeze made her hair sway. At that moment, Tayuya could only have looked better if she had been playing her flute, and I was glad to be able to experience this moment, for seeing the one that you love while feeling the awing release of a completed mission is a wonderful feeling.

We walked quietly back into the dining hall, leaving the body of the traitor lying outside in the cold. Tayuya and I had sat down in the same seats we had seemed to gravitate back all during the night when she took hold of my hand and held it lovingly. I grasped her other hand with mine, and we both conveyed the same wordless message to the other. The message could not be directly translated into any language, but the closest translation is, "I finally know exactly how much I love you." And so I asked Tayuya one last question.

"Tayuya, would you give me the honor of one last dance before they discover Fianna-san's cadaver and we have to leave?"

Tayuya stood with me and wrapped her arms around my neck in a hug as she kissed my cheek.

"I would love to."

**A/N:**** This is the end… I know it seems as thought this wasn't that long, and it really wasn't, in fact, it wasn't even very well written, but I completed this challenge to the best of my abilities, and am a bit happy to say that this is my first completed story.**


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